


Wintry Tides

by fangedknight



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Brock is not a bag of dicks in this, However there will be tiny references if you look closely, M/M, Not a POTC AU!, Pirate AU, We need an epic work in this pairing!, implied Steve/Bucky, implied stucky - Freeform, ish, it might go up later, not sure about that we'll see, possibly implied Hydra Husbands aka Jack/Brock, rating is Mature for now, we'll see, winterbones - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-14
Updated: 2014-11-28
Packaged: 2018-02-25 09:45:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2617355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangedknight/pseuds/fangedknight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The giant epic that the entire fandom has been waiting for: </p><p>Winterbones Pirate AU. </p><p>~ ~ ~ </p><p>James Barnes is a washed up sole survivor of a ship wreck, found by none other than Captain Bones of "The good ship Triskelion." Captain Bones, Brock, takes him in and nurses him back to health. </p><p>Unfortunately there's a few complications. James can't remember who he is or where he's from or even why he was on a ship in the first place. And if that wasn't bad enough, the entire crew loves having him around and so does the Captain. Except the Captain loves him in different ways.</p><p>Everyone watch out as we get swept over board in the first huge AU this part of the fandom has ever seen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Shipwreck

**Author's Note:**

> I was kinda bored of waiting around for all my favorite Winterbones fics to update, on top of that it's Nanowrimo this month and my bestie said she wanted to colab on a Winterbones epic. Unfortunately we haven't gotten to that yet but when we do, don't worry you'll hear about it. 
> 
> One day for the hell of it I started writing stuff down and showed it to her, Pirate AU, she loved it. So here it is! I hope you guys all enjoy this, I'll try and update as frequently as I can but updates may be sporadic just warning ya. Also chapter length is probably going to vary depending.
> 
> So without further ado! Here's my attempt at the first damn epic AU that I've seen round here! Enjoy!

Black sails pierced the calm blue and white of the sky, the flag of the ship billowing in the wind. Showing off the pure white crossbones on top of a bright red hydra skull, the frigate Triskelion coursed through the Atlantic waters with ease. Her crew secure with her Captain at the helm. It was mostly quiet save for the noises of the men working and singing a shanty when suddenly a cry came up from the crow’s nest. 

“Captain! Fire! Off to Starboard! Looks like a big wreck of some kind!”

Captain Bones quickly handed the wheel to one of his helmsmen, he and his first mate Rollins ran over to the Starboard side of the ship. Bones pulled his spyglass from its pouch and looked across the sea and swore at the sight in front of him. A merchant vessel was slowly falling apart, every inch of it in flames as it began to sink into the sea. The English flag half aflame as it continued to fly.

He shoved his spyglass into his first mate’s hands and pointed for him to look, running back to the helm and barking orders.

“Mother of God…” Rollins said, quickly putting away the spyglass and running after him.

“Loose the main sail! Haul all lines and anchors! Full sail ahead boys! Move, you bilge rats! Miller! Smith! Get down here!”

“Aye, aye, Captain!”

“You two! Go with Rollins and ready the longboats, there may be survivors.”

“Aye sir!”

The alarm bell began to sound as the men scattered across the ship. The Triskelion took off after the shipwreck as the wind filled her sails and sped her along the ocean waves. They approached the wreck cautiously, staying back in case of any explosions from the possible gunpowder stores that may be onboard.

Silence hung above the crew, not one man dared to make a sound as they scanned the water for any possible survivors.

“Jones!” The Captain shouted to the boy up in the crow’s nest. “Do you see anyone out there?”

“No, sir! I don’t– Wait! Man overboard! Man overboard! Off the Starboard bow!”

The men ran to that position on the ship, shouting as they lowered one of the longboats. Rollins and Miller grabbed a couple of the men and they went down, pulling the unconscious man from the water and bringing him back to the ship.

“Roy take the helm, get us out of here!” The Captain barked as he ran down the deck, the men making way for the Captain. He got there just as Rollins hauled the man into the ship and laid him down the deck.

“Not breathing!”

“Move!” cried the Captain.

He threw his large brimmed hat at someone nearby and pressed his mouth to the unconscious man’s, pinching his nose and breathing into his mouth. The captain quickly backed off and began pressing on the man’s chest, everyone backing away as the man sputtered to life and spat and coughed up water all over the deck. He gasped for breath and looked around wearily, his eyes landing on the Captain for a moment before rolling into the back of his head. The man passed out onto the deck with a loud, “Thunk!”

Rollins looked at the Captain questioningly. “What are your orders, sir?”

Bones stared at the man that they rescued and nodded shallowly to himself. “Back to your posts, the lot of you. We won’t know who this man is or what he’s about till he comes to. In the meantime, I’ll keep watch over him in my cabin. Rollins, take over till I come back.”

“Aye, sir.”

The Captain scooped the wet man into his arms and took him down to his cabin, shouting more orders as he walked. “Miller!”

“Aye Sir!”

“Find some bandages and medical supplies and bring them to my cabin. Take Smith with you if you need an extra hand.”

“Aye Sir!”

Smith quickly ran off and Rollins ran over to open the doors to the Captain’s cabin. Stepping inside, and shutting the door he placed the Captain’s hat on the table.

“Do you think he’ll be alright, Brock?”

Brock looked at the drowned young man on his bed. “I pray he will be.”


	2. Wake Up Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mysterious man (we all know who it is) finally wakes up!

Brock sat by his bed in his cabin and waited for the man they pulled from the ocean to regain consciousness. He wasn’t too terribly looking for being half drowned and almost blown to smithereens when his ship went up in flames. His hair was dark and long, strands of wet hair sticking to his face here and there as it dried.

His hair wasn’t the only good looking thing about him. Brock had managed to get the unconscious man into a set of dry clothes he had in his cabin without too much too much trouble after treating his wounds with the supplies Miller and Smith had brought to him. Of course he noticed how fit the man was as he wrapped him up in blankets, fighting off any form of hypothermia that might have tried to take him.

The waiting turned from minutes to hours and Brock began to doze off in the chair. The rhythmic rocking of the ship lulling him off to dream land like the Triskelion was singing her Captain to sleep. Brock began to snore softly, head lolled onto his chest.

Bleary blue eyes, blinked away the murkiness and fluttered open. Resting on the unfamiliar man sitting in the chair next to the bed. The man groaned softly as he slowly sat up onto his arms and looked around at where he was. The cabin was a decent size and he tried to figure out what type of ship he might exactly be on when he took in the different things in the room.

There was a table with maps, charts, sextants, and other navigation objects in the center of the room, as there would be in any captain’s cabin. Under the window in the rear of the cabin was a desk and a large trunk, on one side of that stood a rack where a black, large-brimmed, hat with a purple feather sticking out of it hung. Next to it on the rack was a big, thick, black overcoat, looking like something out of a sea legend itself.

Across the room from the bed was a rack on the wall where different swords and pistols hung like soldiers lined up in a military fashion. But it was the abundance of jewels, trinkets, and gold practically pouring out of a smaller chest underneath the weapon rack that told him that he was onboard a pirate ship.

He glanced at the man that sat in the chair beside the bed he sat on. Short, dark hair and sun kissed, olive skin graced his features. Despite the fact he was asleep, he could tell the man in front of him had an air of power and authority about him, even when semi-unconscious. Feeling slightly fatigued from just sitting up, the drowned man sighed and laid back down onto the bed, pulling the blankets up and around him more.

It was the rustling of the blankets that woke the Captain up from his slumber, mumbling he jolted himself awake and rubbed his eyes. He looked around till his eyes finally landed on the culprit of his awakening. Brock gave a small smile and let out a breath of relief.

“Oh, you’re awake. How are you feeling? I hope you didn’t try moving too much. Thankfully your injuries are minor, but I still wouldn’t risk anything.”

The man bit his lip nervously and moved to sit himself up against the pillows. “I’m… alive. In one piece, so I think I’m okay. Thank you for helping me. Although… I’m not sure why I need help in the first place… or where I am either.”

The confused look on the poor man’s face made Brock’s heart clench tightly. Figuring it was the shock of everything he quickly explained what happened.

“My men and I found you afloat and barely alive on a piece of wood from your ship. You were shipwrecked, must have been attacked by another ship because your entire ship was in flames and slowly sinking to the sea. I… I’m sorry to tell you this, but you’re the only survivor we found.”

“Your men…? Then you must be the Captain of this ship?”

“Yes I am. My name is Brock Rumlow, I’m Captain of the Triskelion. But my men all call my Captain Bones.” He held out his hand to him and the man weakly returned the shake.

“Do you remember anything from the wreck?” Brock asked.

The man shook his head and winced slightly, touching his hand to the top of a bandage that was carefully wrapped around part of his head. “Well… that explains why that hurts.”

He gave a soft chuckle but grimaced when he tried to think about what had happened. “I… I don’t know, honestly. It looks like I’ve taken a rather nasty blow to the head though. Would explain why I can’t remember much.”

Brock nodded. “It’s alright, once you heal you might remember what happened. Can you at least tell me your name?”

“Yes…I–” He stopped himself short, eyes going wide and slightly frantic. “I… I don’t… I don’t remember.”

The Captain chuckled softly, “You don’t remember your name? Now come on, you can’t have been hit that hard.” He took in the man’s expression and realized he wasn’t joking and his own expression became grim very quickly. “Oh Lord. This isn’t good.”

“No… I would say it’s not.”

“Well then. Looks like you really will be staying with us till you’re healed up.”

The man winced and nodded ever so slightly, the pain being a bit too much for him. Brock frowned and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, having him lay back down and adjusting the pillows for him.

“Easy, just stay here and rest. It’s alright. First thing’s first, heal up, then when you remember, we can help get you back to where you need to go.”

“I hate to be a burden… but it seems like I don’t have much of a choice. Thank you for your kindness though.”

Brock nodded and gave him a soft smile. “Don’t mention it. Now, if you’ll excuse me. You need to get some rest and I need to check on my crew. My first mate may be running things but that doesn’t mean I trust the boys to listen to him completely.”

The tiny smile that lit up the man’s face made Brock feel rather good about the joke he just cracked. Chuckling to himself he swung on his overcoat and flipped his hat onto his head, combing out the feather with his hand before putting his sword belt back on. Walking towards the door, he stopped and looked back at the man in his bed.

“Get some rest, I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Aye, sir.” The man mumbled with a lopsided smile before falling back to sleep.

Brock smiled to himself and shook his head, quietly walking out of his cabin and back onto the deck with the rest of the men. Walking up the stairs next to his cabin, he approached the helm and took over from Rollins who smiled when he saw Brock come up the stairs.

“Ah, our mighty Captain returns! How fares our drowned friend?”

The Captain sighed and shook his head. “Not good.” 

Rollins’ face dropped and he lowered his voice. “Are his injuries that bad?”

“No, not really. Except his head wound. I have no doubts it’ll heal fairly quickly but unfortunately… he doesn’t remember who he is.”

Brock looked at Rollins, face set in a grimacing line as he continued. “Jack, he’s probably going to be staying with us for a while. I say a while because I have no idea if his memories will even come back or not.”

Jack clicked his teeth and nodded, mulling over all this in his head. “Then we’ll just have to deal with it as it happens. At least he hasn’t tried to kill us yet.” 

He rolled his eyes at Jack, “Of course he hasn’t tried to kill us yet, he’s barely conscious!” Jack merely laughed as the Captain went on. “You idiot, how in the world did you become my first mate?”

“I have no idea, I think it was because I saved your life a couple times.”

“Hmph. More like a few dozen times.”

“I don’t hear you complaining.”

“No, no you don’t.”

“So what are we going to do with him, Captain?” 

Brock shook his head. “I don’t know… but for now, we heal him.”

“Aye, aye sir.”


	3. Remember

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so okay, sorry this took a while ^^;; been sick this past week and between sneezing, blowing my nose, and coughing enough to lose half a lung, I haven't really been able to concentrate on writing. That and Dragon Age: Inquisition stole away all my attention! BUT! Here it is! More to come soon!

It only took a couple of weeks before the shipwrecked man was mostly healed, all of the bandages came off except for the one wrapped around his head and all the men made sure to keep a weather eye on him just in case something happened while he was out walking the deck. The man, affectionately named, “Winter,” by the Captain and the crew because of how cold the water was when they found him, took to the crew like a fish takes to water. Getting to know the men and slowly making friends with the entirety of the crew. 

As soon as his head was healed enough for everyone not to worry, he started to join the men in helping to run the ship and fell back into work at sea like it was second nature. Obviously showing himself and everyone else that he was apparently a sailor and not just a passenger on the merchant ship like they all thought he was. 

Winter took to Miller and Smith especially, the two of them showing him where everything was and how exactly things were done on the Triskelion. Soon enough he was slowly moving his way out of the captain’s cabin and to the crew’s quarters down below. The Captain couldn’t help but be a little anxious and worried about Winter when he started to stay with the other men. Thankfully Jack calmed him down enough and Winter promised if anything was wrong he’d come find either himself or Rollins right away. 

Today however, things were a bit different. Brock was strolling the deck, checking on all of his men, when he came across Miller and Smith with no Winter attached to their hips. Knowing he shouldn’t worry himself, the Captain continued on his rounds of the ship and decided he was probably down below or possibly helping Jones up near the crow’s nest. 

When two hours came and went and still there was no sign of Winter, Brock’s mind started to race among the possibilities and he quickly went on another round, hoping to find him with at least one of the men, somewhere. He didn’t. Worry nagged at him no matter how hard he tried to swat it away and finally he pulled Jack aside and told him what he’d seen. 

“I don’t know where he is.” 

“What?”

“I don’t know where Winter is. I haven’t seen him since this morning’s rounds and I made sure to double check so don’t even think of calling me a mother hen right now.” Brock huffed. 

Jack bit back a laugh but still rolled his eyes at him. “Listen, he’s probably fine, what’s he going to do? Fall off the ship?” 

The look he got from Brock was anything but reassured and Jack quickly changed tactics. “Brock, listen, he’s a grown man. Even though he doesn’t remember anything about himself he’s got to be around here somewhere, I’ll help you look for him.” 

“You better. I don’t want to find him in one of the apple barrels or sleeping in one of the longboats but that’d be better than not finding him at all.” 

“I know. Let me ask Miller and Smith when they last saw him, I’ll be back before you can say squid’s for dinner.” 

Brock scrunched up his face. “We are not having squid for dinner.” 

Jack’s roaring laughter could be heard all the way across the deck as he trotted off to find Miller and Smith. It didn’t take him long.

“I could hear you two all the way from Tortuga! Shut your traps for a minute and listen why don’t you!” 

Miller quickly shut his jaw with a click in the middle of his sentence and Smith looked up rather fearfully. “Easy men, I’m not going to hit ya. Listen, the Captain’s about to lose his mind. When was the last time you two saw Winter?” 

Smith looked at Miller and finally turned to Rollins, “We haven’t been with him since this morning. He said he needed time to think. I don’t know what in the world was going on with him.”

“He got a funny look on his face, s’what happened.” Miller quickly added. 

“A funny look? What are you on about?” 

Miller shook his head, “I’m not entirely sure, sir. All I know is that we were fixing the ropes and all of a sudden he looked like he’d seen a ghost and stared at the deck for a minute. Then got this look on his face like… like he was thinking too hard and mumbled something about needing to go and think by himself.” 

“And that was the last we saw of him.” Smith concluded. 

Jack blew out a breath and ran a hand threw his hair, “Thanks. Let me know if you see him alright?” 

“Aye sir.” They said in unison. 

Jack continued his search across the deck when he nearly ran into Jones. “Dear God watch where you’re—Jones? Sorry, didn’t see you there. Wait… what are you doing down on the deck?” 

Jones looked rather startled but quickly composed himself as best as possible. “I..er… needed to stretch my legs sir.” 

Jack gave him a look that screamed, _Don’t even think of lying to me_ , and Jones quietly gulped. “ _Just_ stretching your legs, Jones?”

“I—Yes sir.” 

“Mmhm. And who is up in the crow’s nest if you aren’t?” 

“W—I mean… no one sir. No one’s up there right now.” 

“I’ll see about that.” Jack took off for the main mast and hauled himself up onto the ropes, beginning to climb up towards the direction of the nest.

“Sir! Wait!” Jones shouted as he expertly scaled the ropes to where Jack was. 

Jack turned his head and looked down at Jones as he made his way to the first platform. “Oh? And why should I if there’s nobody up there as you say?” 

Jones stuttered and finally hung his head. “Because there’s someone up there, sir.” 

“Winter, right?” 

“Aye, sir. He… he said he needed time to think by himself, he said he’d watch my post for me and told me to come down and help the men with the deck work. I didn’t want anyone disturbing him, he looked like he needed his space.” 

Jack sighed and patted the boy on his shoulder. “It’s alright son, just go run a message to the Captain, tell him I found Winter and I’ll have him down shortly. Can you do that?”

“Aye, sir! I will!” Jones scampered off and swung his way down on the ropes, quickly running to the helm and letting the Captain know exactly what Jack had said. 

Rollins looked up at the crow’s nest and continued the rest of the climb, settling himself as close being beside the crow’s nest as he could. Watching Winter quietly look out on the sea, simply watching the waves and birds. 

“It’s quite a view, isn’t it?” 

Winter snapped his head in the direction of the voice. “Easy Winter, it’s just me.” He relaxed visibly when he noticed it was Jack there and not someone else. 

“Sorry… I just wanted to be alone for a while.” 

“It’s okay, I understand. Heard you were thinking for a while, what happened?” 

“I… remembered something.” The funny look that Miller had mentioned returned as Winter scrunched his face up in thought. “Something from before the shipwreck.”

Rollins’ eyebrows went up in surprise, “What was it?” 

“My name… I think. Yes. Yes it was my name.” 

“Winter that’s wonderful, why don’t you come down with me and you can tell the Captain. That way he’ll know and understand completely and most importantly stop worrying like a mother hen.” 

That got a chuckle out of Winter and he nodded at Jack, carefully following him down the ropes and onto the deck. Walking beside him as they approached the helm, Winter patted Jones on the shoulder as a silent thank you before addressing the Captain. 

“Captain,” Rollins began. “I found him.” 

“Good, very good, Jones told me you did.” 

“Aye, sir. He said he has something to tell you.” Jack gave a small grin and let Winter take over from there.

“Sir… I’m sorry I ran off, I remembered something.” 

Brock’s eyes widened and he quickly dropped the frustrated Captain attitude. Ushering him away from the other men so he could have a bit more privacy to tell him.

“What was it?”

“My name.”


	4. Nicknames

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I know I'm a tad late on the actual time but I just wanted to wish everyone a very happy holiday and I hope ya'll had a l of turkey! :D 
> 
> Either way here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long, I promise I'll write as much as I can this weekend and I'll update as often as I can! (Warning, if updates are sporadic, most likely is because I'm either being a butt or I have schoolwork. Mostly schoolwork.)

Brock immediately took Winter down to his cabin and sat him down at the table, making sure to grab some rum for the both of them. Although to some it was a small enough matter of someone’s name, this name required a strong drink to go with it. 

“Alright… so what is it?” 

“Barnes. James Buchanan Barnes….” 

Brock slammed a swig of rum back and handed the bottle to James. “That’s quite a mouthful. Is it alright if I still call you Winter while I’m getting used to it?” 

James nodded and took a hearty sip of his own. “Perfectly alright, in fact I’ve rather grown fond of it really.” 

The Captain smiled and accepted the bottle as it was passed back to him, gazing intently at the man before him while he drank. “So… James. Anything else that rattled to the surface of your brain or is that still unclear as well?”

He scowled at the table in thought for a moment, softly running his fingers across the knife scars that were scattered across the finish. James’ fingers mindlessly played with one of the marks as he began to speak. 

“Nothing… solid, yet. Mostly flashes… distant images here and there, but nothing’s clear. Like a ship in the middle of a fog, you know something’s out there but you just can’t see it.” 

Brock nodded and passed the bottle to him. “I understand. From what I’ve heard from Rollins, head wounds take a while to fully heal. Nothing will probably make sense for a while.” 

He grimaced slightly, “While that’s not exactly good, it’s not completely a bad thing either. You’re welcome to stay with us, I’ve told you that I don’t know how many times, but I’ll say it again. You’re a part of this crew till you remember everything you need to. And even if you do remember everything and you want to stay… well…” The Captain smiled softly. “We’ll be happy to have you.” 

James returned the smile and took a drink. “Thank you Captain.” 

He chuckled, “Please, you can call me Brock when we’re alone. Or Bones if you feel like you can’t use my first name yet.” 

“Alright then,” He grinned. “Brock, although I do like Bones. How did you even get called that anyways? Just the flag? Or something else?” 

Brock laughed so hard he nearly fell out of his chair. “I completely forgot you didn’t know the story, I’m so used to everyone having heard it.” 

The Captain gestured for him to get out of the wooden chair and join him over by the bed and the window seat. “You best make yourself comfortable, it’s a rather long tale.” 

“Well it’s a good thing I have time then.” James replied.

He took a breath and stretched himself out as best as possible in the slightly cramped quarters. “It all started when I first took command of the Triskelion. Rollins of course was my first mate as he always has been. We were sailing round near Cuba when of course as soon as we landed we were attacked by Natives. It was a bad day for all of us. So of course naturally we fight them and things start to get ugly. Someone botches a pronunciation of the language, thank you Smith, then someone draws a sword, someone else draws a sword, a pistol goes off, and it’s like someone called a mutiny while the Queen of England was on deck!” 

James’ eyebrows went up in surprise but he remained quiet for the most part. “So then what happened?” 

Brock’s grin was both slightly maniacal and infectious, “Well… as is only natural on one of the worst days of your life, you lose your sword. Then you lose the second one. I eventually was unarmed against a rather large and angry native with a giant spear. So I grabbed the closest things I had to me. Which happened to be two bones from some critter that had died on the beach a while back.”

“Bones?”

“Yup. Bones.”

“So… you beat him?” 

“Mhmm. Beat the living crap out of him and held him at bone point you could say. Had the bastard on his knees with the bones crossed against his throat, managed to have Smith or someone shout for them to stop or I was gonna off their big guy. They stopped, thank God.”

“And you got away?” James asked.

“Well obviously, I’m here aren’t I?” Brock said with a chuckle. 

“Well yeah.” 

“It’s alright, believe me at that moment I thought I was going to be cannibal pie for sure. But I wasn’t. Soon as they saw me with the crossbones and saw the look in my eye and how dead serious I was, they backed off and starts shouting some superstitious crap about a man wielding bones or something. I don’t know. Smith couldn’t translate his way out of a wet sea bag. But that very next day, soon as we got back to the ship and got her docked someplace somewhat civilized and safe, I took the flag down and repainted it. Added the extra crossbones over top of the Hydra. Just as my own form of luck or something I guess. I don’t really know, it just kinda stuck. Especially thanks to Miller and Smith calling me Captain Bones every time I’d cross paths with them.” 

James laughed and fell back onto the bed, getting slightly lost in the pillows. “I love it. And you know what? It really suits you. ‘Captain Bones of the good ship Triskelion!’”

“Oh hush. You’re just jealous cause I actually have a terrible but wonderful story about my nickname and yours is because we pulled out of the North Atlantic and you nearly froze to death.”

His laughter died down and he sat up slightly from the pillows. “It’s… not like I minded being saved.” He paused and looked intently at Brock. “I know I already thanked you and the entire crew for saving me but… I never thanked you personally. Brock if you hadn’t turned your ship round and risked your life and the lives of your entire crew to check for survivors… you wouldn’t have pulled me out of the water and I wouldn’t be here right now… talking to you.”

He swallowed and sat up, glancing at his hands shyly. “So… thank you.”

Brock rose from his chair and sat down on the bed across from him. “James… I’ve seen my fair share of shipwrecks in my time and no one deserves to die out there in those frigid waters because someone was too worried about stopping to look.”

He gently placed his hand on top of James’, bringing his gaze up to meet his own. “I’m just glad you’re alright. And more so that you’re remembering.”

There was silence between them that soon went from awkward to comfortable as James moved closer to the Captain. He didn’t brush his hand away or ask him to move it, just letting it stay there.

“Brock…” James’ leaned closer to him, they were shoulder to shoulder now. Brock could see the hesitation in his eyes and understood. He closed his hand around his and moved his free hand to cup James’ cheek.

Nothing was said between them, nothing needed to be. James leaned into Brock’s touch and that gave him the cue he was looking for. He moved in swiftly and captured James’ lips in a soft kiss.

James was surprised at first, not that it was entirely unexpected. He returned the kiss, sliding his hand up to Brock’s cheek and mirroring his own. They both slowly opened their eyes and looked at each other as their lips finally parted and Brock pulled back. 

“I don’t want to pressure you into anything, James. Just in case you remember something that might change everything.”

He nodded, “I understand, Captain. I don’t want to give off the wrong impression either. I…appreciate you wanting to wait if I need to.” 

Brock let out a small sigh of relief, “You’re welcome, I… I just want to make sure you’re completely alright with everything, including this before¬–”

The Captain wasn’t prepared for the crash of James’ lips on his but he was presently surprised. James pulled him down onto the bed beside him, kissing him passionately. When he finally pulled away he blushed slightly and slipped his arms around Brock’s waist. James gently placed his head on his chest, as if he was worried the Captain might push him away. Brock smiled and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around him and holding him close, burying his nose into his hair. 

“Don’t worry Winter, rest now. I’m not going anywhere.”


End file.
